Beyond the gilded chapels, sacred cathedrals, and marble-floored museums of Vatican City, there rests a legacy that stretches across centuries of human civilization. While millions of visitors come each year to admire the Vatican’s surface splendor, only a fraction of its immense cultural and historical wealth is visible to the public.
Vatican City is the seat of the Catholic Church, a Christian denomination that is worth at least US$73 billion. But a few of the Church’s treasures are housed within the Vatican’s vaults, archives, and underground tombs. They reflect not only the evolution of Christianity, but also the intertwined history of empires, artistic genius, and ancient wisdom.
Intrigued? Click through this gallery to see some of the priceless artifacts located in the world’s smallest country.